


At My Side

by Kevin_Mask (Nikolai_Knight)



Category: Kinnikuman Nisei | Ultimate Muscle
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Awkward Romance, F/M, First Aid, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Tending to Wounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-16 13:50:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18522838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikolai_Knight/pseuds/Kevin_Mask
Summary: Rinko tends to Mantaro's wound, as they come to a realisation.





	At My Side

_The cloth stung . . ._

It touched against the edges of his wound. The water ran down the sides of his muscular thighs, where it trickled down into the ripped edges of his blue-and-green unitard, and it stuck uncomfortably against his sweat-soaked flesh, as it clung with great strength. A stinging pain throbbed out from the slash into his skin, and the red line finally began to clot as the bruised outsides turned into an angry blue and black. Mantaro winced and fell back.

The bed underneath was uncomfortable, while the bedroom was nothing like memory, and a few stray items of clothing . . . _a summer dress, knee-high socks, a laced brassiere_. . . left him blushing beneath his mask, as he screwed shut his eyes with a groan. A few footsteps drifted by the hallway outside, while Rinko shushed him with a finger to her lips. He looked her over. He swallowed. The brown locks of hair were loose about her cheeks, while her uniform clung to her body in all the right places, and her eyes sparkled in the moonlight.

“You – ah – don’t have to tend to the wound, honest,” muttered Mantaro.

Rinko flushed, as she pressed the cloth hard to the wound. He yelped out and shot upright, where the clean glass of the window caught his reflection, and hers – just beside him – merged beautifully until they were almost one, enough for him to smile once more. Rinko slowly reached for the bandages and dressed the wound, while she occasionally fluttered her eyelids and sent glances his way with licks of her lips. A shuddered breath escaped him. It was too much to dare that she felt something more, too much to hope. Rinko asked:

“You didn’t ask Meat to help?”

He waited as she pulled back. Soft fingertips lingered over the fresh fabric, until they dropped onto her lap and she sat beside him with a dip of the mattress, and – as he swung his legs over the side with a wince – their thighs touched with warmth. He quickly squeezed together his legs, while dropping his hands between them in a not-so-subtle position. A few muttered excuses tumbled from his lips, while his eyes darted over the wrestling memorabilia on the various shelves, and his cheeks grew impossibly hot as she rested her head on his shoulder.

The scent of her apple-shampoo drifted through his senses, as he closed his eyes and rested his head against hers in turn. He chuckled as her hair tickled at his nose, while he simply basked in her presence and listened to her each and every breath, and tears pricked at his eyes as he heard the soft hiss that came with the exhales. Every instinct told him to kiss at her brown locks, but instead he tugged and toyed with his lips and stayed still.

“Meat would have helped,” said Mantaro. “I just – I don’t know . . .”

“Yeah, you do know, Manta,” teased Rinko.

“It’s just you were the first person that I thought about. I crawled out of the ring, and it was a surprise attack, so no one else was about . . . I thought about asking Meat or Kid or Nosonman for help for about a millisecond, but I kept thinking back to you and how soft your hands are and how bright your smile is . . . I wanted you to make it all better.”

“So you sneak through my bedroom window?” Rinko giggled. “Mama was finally happy I wasn’t playing the delinquent lately, but here I am with a boy in my room, and . . . well . . . a cute boy at that. I just wish you’d have stopped by sooner.”

“You think I’m cute?”

Rinko slid her hand across the sheets. He gulped to see her pull her legs up onto her side, as she leaned against him, and her arms wrapped around his arm, as she cuddled close and nuzzled against his shoulder with a low murmur. The palm of her hand was warm on his, as she entwined their fingers and held their hands between them. He opened his eyes wide. A slow turn of his head revealed her looking at him with blown pupils, as she bit into her lip and her free hand toyed with the fabric of his unitard. Rinko whispered:

“Do you think _I’m_ cute?”

He rapidly blinked. The question hit him hard, as he opened his mouth wide and half-pulled away as he looked over every inch of her perfect form. He noted how her smile almost faded, while she angled her head downward with half-closed eyes, and – with a swelling of his heart – gently took her chin with his free hand and angled her face upward. Every beat of his heart was loud and fast, pounding in his ears with great force, and he knew now was the time.

“I think you’re smoking hot,” rushed Mantaro.

“So why didn’t you ask me out, doofus?”

“Wait, what? I thought you were dating Jade all this time!”

“No, Jade’s just a friend.” Rinko blushed. “Okay, so he’s pretty cute, and I did think about dating him for a while, but then you really matured and showed a whole new side to yourself, and more and more I realised you had these hidden depths. You were selfless and intelligent and loyal, and I guess – before I even realised it – I knew I was into you.”

“I – I’m into you, too!”

“So why can’t you keep your eyes in your head?”

“Because I totally didn’t realise you were into _me_! You’re beautiful and sexy and smart, and you kind of remind me of my mom in a totally non-creepy way, because you’re so passionate about wrestling and justice and so warm-hearted, too. Why’d you like a guy like _me_?”

Rinko pulled back with a blush. This time, it was her turn to sit agape. He smiled and squeezed at her hand between them, before his free hand came down to stroke at her cheek, and she nuzzled against it with more affection than he received in a lifetime. A soft kiss was placed to his palm, while she wrapped her fingers lightly around his wrist and held onto it with a surprising gentleness. They locked eyes and leaned close, until foreheads touched and they were able to get lost in each other’s eyes. Rinko choked out in a whisper:

“Okay, so we both _like_ -like each other?”

“Yeah, it seems so,” said Mantaro.

He gathered all his courage, as he swallowed hard. He fought to breathe. They remained locked together until he could stand it no longer, and finally – with tears falling from his eyes – pressed his lips to hers and pressed with great force. It was a chaste kiss, but one reciprocated with a soft parting of her lips. He pulled away with a blush, while both instinctively reached for their lips with trembling fingers, and finally he knew . . .

“I love you, Rinko,” swore Mantaro.

Everything was perfect.


End file.
